13th Mar 2005, 23:24

Any Suzuki is an awesome car. I've never had a problem with any of the Suzukis I've ever owned. Even the ones I've bought with over 100k miles on them! I will never buy anything, but Suzukis. Very good customer service as well! The dealership is very nice, they do great work, their prices are surprisingly affordable, and they've even done things for me for free!

Faults:

Rusty spare wheel carrier and slightly indented back door. Now painted and sealed.

General Comments:

Having owned a 4 x 4 and a Mondeo Estate car we always wanted a second 4 x 4 (despite the excellence of the Mondeo) as visibility, control and general enjoyment is so much more with SUV's.

Picked this high miler LWB Vitara up at a steal yet the bodywork and interior are still so good and original; plus electric everything! Body much lighter than other SUV - Frontera (Amigo), and ladder chassis considerably less substantial but less roll and pitch.

Only criticism is that driver's seat is not very comfy, will rectify with a padded seat cover; and suspension very 'busy' over undulating surfaces.

Took car for UK MoT test two months early expecting to have a list of things to do - to my surprise it passed straight away. (MoT is stringent test all UK vehicles over 3 years old have to undergo every year to remain road legal).

25th Oct 2002, 18:10

Hey guys and gals this car has now done 120,500 and still not cost me a penny I did not WANT to spend! I repainted out the inner wings with white Hammerite and re-silvered the wheels, plus painted rear brake drums red Hammerite - it looks a million dollars now. 16 valve engine still as smooth as cream. What a really good motor these are (but remember mine's along wheel base model, I would imagine the swb could be a bit turbulent!)

23rd Nov 2004, 09:36

UPDATE: Yes, it's still in the same family! The date is November 2004 and my son now uses the Vitara. It had a spell in storage this year during which time I fitted a Timax exhaust system bought off the internet for around £68UK. I fitted new brake pads to the front. Rear drums (larger size) still fine. Also re-undersealed wings with black Hammerite underseal. Just passed UK MoT test again although looking at the exhaust emission report it just scraped through, so I'll probably end up fitting a new cat. this next summer (05). It's now approaching 127,000 miles and yes, the 16 valve unit still runs as sweetly (thank you Castrol GTX!). I think calling these things a simple, reliable, durable vehicle would be almost an understatement. Very high insurance for a 19 year old male with over a years accident free experience though; but he can afford it.

16th Dec 2004, 10:27

Thanks for the informative review, good to see that its still being a reliable car. I'm very much considering this car. My main concern is whether there will be enough room, I sat in a 3dr version and found there was a lot more allowance for a driver my height 6ft 2". could have been me not adjusting the 5 dr versions front seat properly tho.